Prefabricated sail kit



1969 R. J- HALLMARK 3,459,149

PREFABRICATED SAIL KIT Filed Sept. 5, 1967 FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

flrrmwsms United States Patent 3,459,149 PREFABRICATED SAIL KIT RonaldJ. Hallmark, Signal Hill, Calif. (P.O. Box 3525, Long Beach, Calif.90803) Filed Sept. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 665,627 Int. Cl. B63h 9/06 U.S. Cl.114-103 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A prefabricated sail kithaving a plurality of cloth panels that collectively define theconfiguration of a finished sail. The proximate edges of the panels areoverlapped and temporarily adhered together. The aforedescribedprefabricated sail is then rolled up for shipment. The customer unrollsthe sail and stitches the overlapped portions of the panels together oneat a time, the adhesive maintaining alignment.

Background of the invention The vast majority of boat sails are made byprofessional sailmakers. The cost of professionally-made sails isconsiderable. The prefabricated sail kit of the present invention wasdeveloped in order to permit sails to be prefabricated at amanufacturing plant on a mass production basis. Such kits are thenrolled up and shipped to retail customers. These customers may easilycomplete the sail using a conventional sewing machine. No particularsailmaking skill is required.

Summary of the invention It is a major object of the present inventionto provide a prefabricated sail kit that can be economically massproduced for shipment to a purchaser. The purchaser then sews the sailtogether.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sail kit of theaforedescribed nature wherein the outer peripheral portions of theadhered together panels are overlapped at the manufacturing plant so asto receive elongated reinforcing means.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sail kit ofthe aforedescribed nature wherein the foot defined by the lowermost ofthe panels is overlapped and adhered at the manufacturing plant todefine a foot adjustment seam.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of apreferred form of prefabricated sail kit embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the encircled area designated2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the encircled area designated 3in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken in enlarged scale along line4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken in enlarged scale along line55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken in enlarged scale along line66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an inclined sectional view taken in enlarged scale on line7--7 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing said prefabricated sail kit rolledup for shipment.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment Referring to thedrawings, there is shown a preferred form of prefabricated sail kit Sembodying the present invention. As shown particularly in FIG. 1, thesail kit is made up of a plurality of cloth panels designated 20-, 22,

24, 26, 28, 30 and 32. The proximate edges of these panels areoverlapped as shown particularly in FIG. 4. A suitable adhesive (notshown) is interposed at 34 between the overlapping portions of the sailpanels. Preferably, the panels are marked with seam numbers 36, as shownparticularly in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for a purpose set forth hereinafter.The edges of the overlapped panels are also preferably formed with matchmarks 38, such match marks 38 extending from the upper portion of onepanel to the lower portion of the panel disposed above the first panel,as shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 3. Such match marks are imprintedupon the overlapped panels after the panels have been properly alignedso as to define the configuration of the finished sail.

As indicated in FIG. 5, the leech 39 defined by the overlapped panels isoverlapped with a leech wire 40 or similar elongated tension elementpositioned within the overlapped portion 42 of the leech.

The luff 43 defined by the overlapped said panels is preferably providedwith a luff tape 44 that is overlapped over the front of the panels andadhered thereto by a suitable adhesive. A luff wire 46 is positionedwithin the overlapped front portion of the luff tape just forwardly ofthe front end of the overlapped panels, as shown particularly in FIG. 7.

The lowermost portion of the lower panel 20 is overlapped to define aroach adjustment seam 50, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 6. Asuitable adhesive is interposed between the overlapped portions of thefoot to define this seam. The adhered-together cloth panels are rolledup as indicated in FIG. 8 for shipment to the customer. The kit may alsoinclude miscellaneous hardware, such as grommets, snaps, slides and thelike.

When the customer receives the rolled-up sail kit, the sail will beunrolled and the first seam as designated by seam No. 1 will be sewn.This may be accomplished by means of a conventional domestic sewingmachine. If match marks 38 are employed they should be aligned so as toeffect proper positioning of the overlapped panels should the clothpanels have slipped relative to one another. The same process will berepeated for the other seams, the succession of the sewing of such seamsbeing determined by the succession of the seam number 36 if the latterare employed. Thereafter, the overlapped side edges of the sail will besewed together to define the luff 39 and leech 43. The roach seam 50 ispreferably not sewn until the sail has been hoisted and the proper shapeof the foot determined. This adjustment is facilitated by the use of atemporary adhesive or masking tape. After the proper adjustment isobtained the roach seam 50 may be permanently sewn.

It will be apparent that various changes in the details of constructionof the aforedescribed sail kit may be made as necessitated by thevarious types of commonly-utilized sails. It will also be understoodthat various modifications and changes may be made with respect to theforegoing detailed description.

I claim:

1. A prefabricated kit for a sail having a luff and a leech, such kitbeing shippable in a collapsed form and cbmprising:

a plurality of cloth panels that collectively define the configurationof a finished sail, the proximate edges of said panel being overlappedand said luff and said leech being overlapped;

elongated reinforcement means positioned Within the overlapped portionsof said luff and leech;

and adhesive means interposed between the edges of said panels and theoverlapped portions of said luff and leech for temporarily securing saidedges and said overlapped portions together.

2 A sail kit as set forth in claim 1 wherein match marks are imprintedon said panel edges that when aligned properly position said panels insaid configuration.

3. A sail kit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said over lapped panelsare provided with seam numbers to indicate the succession of seams ofthe completed sail.

4. A sail kit as set forth in claim 1 wherein the foot defined by thelowermost of said panels is overlapped to define a roach adjustmentseam, and adhesive means are provided to temporarily maintain saidoverlap.

5. A method of making a finished sail, comprising:

cutting a plurality of cloth panels that collectively deline theconfiguration of a finished sail;

applying adhesive means along the edges of said panels;

overlapping the edges of said panels and temporarily securing such edgestogether in the configuration of the finished sail by said adhesivemeans;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,796,038 6/1957 Pegel et a1114-l03 3,118,801 1/1964 Lamport 1l4--103 X 3,325,826 6/1967 Ryan 2243TRYGNE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 161-50

